Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 30, No. 94, Ed. 1 Monday, September 4, 1995 Page: 1 of 10
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I
Monday
September 4. 1995
10 r«|t« In one tort ion
plus Insert*
Srrvtnp the
Burlegtm
area mince
190S
50 Cents
i*
Public hearing on
proponed budget
i« Thursday
If you want to g«*t your
too rente in on the budgr-t
propdsrii f<-r the city of
Burleeon. hr at
city hall Thor*
'lay night
The council
f j presented the
L* i j budget to on
empty room
Auk 29. and "<•*
Sept 7 at 7
pm at city hall
a n t h e date,
time, and place
for the public hearing Any-
one opposed or in favor of the
plane for 1995 199ft can
apeak at the heannK. which
will take place dunnK the
council meetuiK
The proposed 1995 tax
rate is $0 0124 lea* than the
1994 rate, according to the
city manager The actual rate
proposed in $0 6775, with
$0 5145 for maintenance and
operation* and $0 1630 for
debt service The proposed
revenues for 1995-1996 are
over $13 1 million while total
expenditures are over $13 5
million
Join ... and get
10 free trees
Anyone who joins the
National Arbor Day Founda
tion during September 1995,
gets 10 free trees.
The list includes the
American Redbud,
White Pine,
Sugar Maple,
White Flower-
ing Dogwood,
Pin Oak, Red
Maple, Birch,
Silver Maple,
Red Oak, and Colo-
rado Blue Spruce
The free trees
are part of the non-
profit foundation’s Trees for
America campaign They will
be shipped, postpaid, at the
right time for planting be-
tween Oct 15 and Dec. 10,
with enclosed planting in-
structions. The six to 12-inch
trees are guaranteed to grow
or they will be replaced free
of charge
Members also receive a
subscription to the foun-
dation’s bimonthly publica-
tion, Arbor Day, an Arbor Day
Foundation wall calendar,
and the Tree Besik with infor-
mation about tree planting
and care
Write the foundation at
Ten Trees, National Arbor
Day Foundation, 100 Arbor
Avenue, Nebraska City, Neb.,
68410, by Sept. 30 for infor-
mation on how to join.
Straight line
winds destroyed
two homes
Straight line winds
ripped through some mobile
homes in South Mansfield Es-
tates in Johnson County Aug.
19.
Two homes were de-
stroyed and numerous others
suffered minor damage when
the weather took a turn for
the worse at about 6:30 p.m.
Ham radio operators
alerted the American Red
Cross, who arrived on the
scene the next morning. ’
Two families lost every-
thing they had, and are in
need of clothing, bedding,
food, and furniture.
Questions concerning do-
nations can be directed to
Kathy Gabbert, manager of
the Johnson County chapter
of the Red Cross, at 447-9524.
ON THE INSIDE
Burleson Police Reports ... 2
Burleson Police Arrests ... 2
Burleson Fire Report.....3
Obituaries.............4
Sports...................5
Classifieds.......... 8-9
The Burleson Star
is printed on
'recycled newsprint
Burleson otar
For The Good Life
Budget trades water credit for pension
■ City adds community
development manager to
help image with developers
By HA1J.Y r.U-KRTHON
,W Editor
After o\er 30 year* of compensating
volunteer firefighter* *ith free water,
•ewer and tr»*h pickup, the more than
40 member* of the department will have
to bite the bullet and pa) the bill
Th* city ha* switched gear* to ituple
ment the Firefighter* Service Incentive
Program, which i* e**enttnlly retirement
benefit*
"We had to have an alternative be
cause we are prohibited from giving »«
ter aw ay.” Finance Director Charlie Har
n*. *«id "We argued that we weren't giv
mg water away, it wa* value for service
Thi* change made it where then* didn't
have to be an argument *
The city w ill w rite off approximately
$25,000 in water credit for the 1994 '95
fiscal year Over $40,000 is budgeted for
the new incentive program this fiscal
vear
The city will start contributing mono
to new firefighters' retirement funds once
they have completed probationary pen
»d# They will be v*wted in five years, and
could receive reduced benefits if they
leave the department then Full benefit*
will be given to firefighter* who stay 15
year*
Current firefighters will receive
credit for the years they have already
served the city
According to Personnel Director
Janet Melancon. a firefighter who is 55
years old and haa 15 or morn year* of ser
vice to the city could withdraw a pension
of $72 a month if he retires now
A firefighter who la 2fi year* old with
15 years service can retire and receive the
same $72 a month when he reaches 55 If
he stay* 20 years, he would get approxi
mately $100 a month when he celebrate*
hi* 55th birthday
"We have been looking at something
different for a number of year* because
we wrren't happy with that kind of com-
pensation iwater credit).* Fire Chief
Kerry Kinney said "A few membefli don't
live in the city so they were just getting
their trash picked up This way it make*
it fair for every body *
At least three former chief* — Bob
Green, Chester Smith, and John Crocker
— w ill continue to receive free water, per
their lifetime water credit
City official* decided to move the
municipal court to the Burlenon sub-
courthouse a* soon u* possible affer the
fiscal year begin* One additional deputy
clerk will be hired (salary range $16,970-
$23,763) The city's portion of the remod
cling and relocation expense is $25,000
Burleson will pay the county $6,000 an
nually to lease the space in the county
building on FM 731 North
A community development manager
(salary range $31,300$46,400) will be
added to 'assist staff, cituens, and devel-
oper* with getting through the develop
merit pruceks.* according to Burleson City
Manager Kay Godbry "It is one of the
mayor components to improving the city's
image and reputation with development
issues *
In other personnel changes
—The city will add an aiuu»tant fi
nance director (salary range $32,610
$47,420' to help Ham* restructure the
office and address future needs,
—A part-time library aide position
(19 hour* n week, salary $6,903' will be
added to help with the new library,
- The personnel department will wel
come u part time administrative intern
'$3,117 annually),
- Fire prevention gains a code en-
forcement officer (salary range $22,824
-Sot POIJCR, Page 10
,’TTr
Li>
Burleson S'laWTERRY EVANS
DRIVER SENT TO EMERGENCY ROOM: Michael Galloway
of Burleson is extracted from his wrecked pickup by Briaroaks
Fire Department emergency workers Friday after a collision with
a tractor hauling a mobile home. The accident took place on the
east service road of 1-35.
Collision sends one
driver to hospital
Joseph Brett Rust of Fort
Worth, was uninjured.
Terry Jones, another Road
Master driver, who was pulling
the other half of the double-wide
behind Rust, said he saw the
black pickup pull into the inter-
section from CR 602, "then the
front quarter panel of Brett's
truck flew into the air."
A collision between a Chev-
rolet pickup and a diesel trac-
tor hauling half of a double-wide
mobile home sent a Burleson
man to the emergency room of
Huguley Memorial Medical
Center Friday.
Michael Scott Galloway, 23,
was treated and released.
According to DPS Trooper
Monte Grimes, Galloway report-
edly failed to yield right of way
at a stop sign at the intersection
of the east service road to 1-35
and CR 602, about four miles
south of Burleson.
The driver of the Road Mas-
ter trucking company tractor,
The tractor pushed the
pickup about 200 feet before
both went into a ditch between
the interstate and service road.
Emergency personnel from
Burleson also responded to the
10:30 a m. accident Sept. 1.
Ex-joumalist heads
up senior citizens
■ She wants them
to leave laughing
By REGGIE WOODS
Star Publications Staff Writer
Peggye Swenson doesn't
plan on putting the writing quill
in the attic trunk. She's just
adding another page to her life
story.
She has been appointed di-
rector of Burleson Senior Citi-
zens Center.
Swenson has topped off a
long career as a news reporter
and photographer with a new
career of working with others,
instead of just writing about
them.
"When you quit learning, you
quit living," she said. "I can uti-
lize the talents I have, and de-
velop new ones."
Swenson said she won many
a wards for both writing and pho-
tography as a journalist. The
most recent was an award in
1994 with National Federation
of Press Women.
"I've covered enough fires,
floods, and famines to last three
lifetimes," she said. "It's time to
have fun. I want to make the
center fun; I want the seniors to
leave laughing."
"We are having fun," said
Pauline Woods, who goes to the
center regularly. "We just love
Peggye.”
"She is a good cook, and
See GOAL, Page 4
County hopes to cut costs
with indigent health plan
■ Questions haven’t
been answered yet
by the state
By SALLY ELLERTSON
Burleson Star Managing Editor
Johnson County officials
knocked on the door of the two
mqjor hospitals serving Johnson
County to ask the health care
facilities to "give us their best
shot to help us contain cost*,’ ac-
cording to Dr Arthur Raines,
overseer of the county’s indigent
health care and charity services
Raines met with Harris
Hospital (Walls Regional in
Cleburne) and Huguley Hoapi-
H and aaked for proposals for
.■ m* -
Last year the county spent
approximately $1.4 million on
indigent health care, of which
about $700,000 was reimbursed
by the state.
Indigent health care covers
people who are not eligible for
Medicaid or any other benefits,
according to Veronica Fitz-
patrick, coordinator of the
county’s indigent health care
services.
The applicant has to prove
that he/she is a resident of
Johnson County, show proof of
the level of income available,
and supply names and dollar
amounts of financial resources
(checking or savings accounts,
life insurance, value of an auto-
mobile, value of property, etc.)
before eligibility is OK’d
According to Raines, the
state’s goal is to “get county
funds, match them with federal
funds, and expand Medicaid
coverage so some will be covered
by Medicaid."
At this point, the water is
still muddy because the state
can’t answer all the questions
the commissioners have about
the matching funds.
The county also has prob-
lems with the number of
indigents coming to this region
for care (see story, Pape 3).
“Until we have definite
guidelines, we're out on the
edge," Prec 2 Commissioner
Ron Harmon said
Raines said the com-
missioners have to make three
decisions by Sept 30
“You have to decide if we
make the funds available Do
you want t this game at
all? If not, s and let the
game be us without
any input, olr s told the
commissioner^ i^condly, if we
play the game, how much
money do we make available for
matching funds? And, do we
want to form our own IG1 (in-
ner governmental initiative) or
join other counties?"
Raines said he recom-
mended Bending a letter of in-
tent for Johnson County to form
its owiisIGI, or form its own,
then join with some other
county.
“Right now is the only time
we have to negotiate with the
Department of Human Services
on what is and is not covered,"
Raines said
Raines said he has theorized
how the chips would fall
“Chances are we will get one
year into the IGI business and
have matching funds, then
switch to block grants The fund-
ing will decrease and we’ll be
back to square one, but we’ll
have the IGIs in place," Raines
said “Medicaid will decrease the
number of people they cover and
more will show up at indigent
health care places"
Medicaid is a federal-state
welfare program that pays for
medical service for needy people
under 65 years old. Medicaid
and Medicare came on line in
1965. Medicare is a national so-
cial insurance program that par-
tially covers the cost of medical
care for the aging
Medicaid since expanded to
cover poor children, pregnant
women, and elderly people who
don’t qualify for welfare
When the county sold Walls
Regional Hospital to Harris
Health Systems, the contract
stipulated that Harris has to
provide a certain level of char-
ity Anything beyond that
agreed up on level is paid for by
the county
Chanty and indigent health
care case are paid from the same
funds, so are easily confused,
according to Raines
Hospitals, by law, can not
refuse to treat an individual who
goes to the emergency room with
an emergency medical condi-
tion
County Judge Roger
Harmon said the county was
trying to keep indigent people
from going that route
“We are trying to find a way
to keep someone who is indigent
out of the emergency room if it's
not an emergency because the
costa are triple," Judge Hannon
said '
Raines agreed
“The county has an interest
in keeping people out of the hos-
pital emergency room and put-
ting them in a doctor's office and
getting them on a public pro-
gram," Raines said. “It’s much
cheaper for the county and it’s
better for the patient to have a
designated physician ”
Johnson County’s indigent
health care office employs two
social workers “who do their
best to get you on any kind of
program,” according to RaineH.
Indigent health care is the last
resort.
Johnson County is different
in that it does have social work
ers. Some other counties only
employ a clerk If the applicant
can’t fill out the paperwork for
the program, he/she can be
turned down.
“Without assistance, you
and I couldn’t fill out that pa-
perwork,” Raines said.
The county is also meeting
with pharmacy vendors and re-
questing proposals for a phar-
macy service for the indigent
health care population
The county is awaiting an-
swers from the state and work-
ing through an attorney to get
the muddied waters cleared be-
fore making a decision
I
■ X.
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Star Publuations/OlXNti COCHRAN
FIRST DOWN YARDAGE: Grapevine defenders take down a Burleson Elk receiver during
Thursday's scrimmage, but not before he picks up first down yardage. Starting quarterback Steve
Kelly delivered the pass. The Elks hosted the Mustangs for freshman, JV, and varsity scrimmages at
Elk Stadium. Regular season games begin later this week for high schools across the state.
JF.
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Ellertson, Sally. Burleson Star (Burleson, Tex.), Vol. 30, No. 94, Ed. 1 Monday, September 4, 1995, newspaper, September 4, 1995; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth763063/m1/1/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Burleson Public Library.